Dancing

I would like to start my essay with the words of a well-known philosophical writer Friedrich Nietzsche, “We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once.” (McNeill, 1997) Dancing is indeed one of the most splendid things which keeps life spirited. The history of dancing began many years ago as a spiritual body moving. Nowadays, dancing is considered to be a special discipline and a form of art which is diversified into many categories.

First of all dancing can be verified by the number of people who perform. It can be divided into group dance, crowd dance, solo or duet (McNeill, 1997).

If to speak about dancing from a “purpose” aspect, it can be classified into specific performance, ceremonial dance, professional dance, erotic performance, etc (Dils, 2001).

Finally, if to speak about dancing as a form of art it can be divided into following categories: International Standard Ballroom Dances, American Style Dances, Traditional Indian Dances, Hip-hop & funk dance, Styles of Ballroom Dances, House dance, Latin dance etc(Adshead-Lansdlae, 1994).

The first category is considered to be the most elite and intelligent. It includes ballroom dance, Waltz, Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz, Cha-Cha-Cha, Jive and Paso Doble.

American style dancing are remarkably similar to the Latin style of dancing, but people still separate them into another group for their unusual rhythmicity and passion. It includes Bolero, Mambo, and East Coast Swing (similar to Lindy Hop).

Everyone has probably heard about the ballroom style of dances because it is the most various one. It is also considered to be one of the most popular. It consists of such kinds of energetic dances as Salsa, Swing Dance (which was created in the early 30th and let to the appearance of such dances as Boogie Woogie and Rock and Roll), Ballet and even Tap Dance. For those, who are fond of emotional moves there are also Flamenco, Folk Dance and Jazz. Modern is a style which appeared in the 21th century and has become extremely popular with young people who enjoy discos and parties. (Dils, 2001).

Besides expressing national culture, Traditional Indian Dances also include a large number of mixes of the styles described above. Among Traditional Indian Dances, there should be mentioned Mohiniattam, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Manipuri, Sattriya, Bhangra a Bollywood Dance. The last one is widely used in the Bollywood film industry. It can often be seen in the Indian movies.

House dance is strongly connected with a genre of modern music, which has the same name. It includes Hustle, Jacking, Vogue, Waacking, Electro Dance and Grinding. It is popular mostly with young people and can be usually seen in night clubs (McNeill, 1997).

 The style of dance is closely connected with the style of music by which it is accompanied. Ballet is usually performed at the same time with the classical music, so does jazz and hip-hop. Even though dance is usually associated with music, it can also be performed independently. The style of this kind of dancing depends only on the performer’s style and is often called “dancing to the own rhythm”. (Adshead-Lansdlae, 1994)
If to speak about classification of dances from a national point of view it should be mentioned “National dances” form a different group, including an enormous number of styles.

So many people, so many tastes. So many tastes, so many dancing styles. Everything depends on your temper, your music interests. Due to the various choices of types of dancing everyone can choose the one which fits his personality. Remember that the dance is a poem of which each movement is a word. Chose a kind of dance you like and transform your life into a piece of art.